Easton Area School District approves tax abatement zone for city

Express-Times File PhotoNeston Heights is the redevelopment of the former Delaware Terrace public housing development on South Side Easton.

A tax abatement program approved by the Easton Area School District on Tuesday night could allow low-income residents of the West Ward, Neston Heights and Downtown Easton to redevelop their properties without risking a sharp rise in property taxes associated with the increase in value.

Under LERTA, anyone who builds on a lot, makes improvements to a home or otherwise increases the property value through repairs or development does not have to pay the full property tax value of the increase for 10 years. Each year, the property taxes on the lot would go up 10 percent until they’ve reached the new assessed value, instead of immediately rising to match the new assessment.

At least one area resident fears the emphasis will be on commercial operators and landlords rather than individual property owners.

“You don’t need to give them any more favors,” College Hill resident Drew Anderson told the school board.

But school board member Frank Pintabone said one of the most important areas for the LERTA is the West Ward, which has Easton's second lowest median income, according to U.S. Census data. There, he hopes, the program will benefit homeowners, not businesses.

Pros and cons

Homeowners who repair their property's facade, for example, face a downside, Pintabone said.

“The homeowners are stuck with the dilemma of spending money to redo it, but the taxes go up immediately with the reassessment,” Pintabone said.

The school board benefits because the community is being improved and, under LERTA, will not lose current revenue: The tax property owners already pay would remain the same in year one and increase by 10 percent a year to 100 percent of the new assessment in year 10.

For the city, a LERTA can help regulate construction.

“Everybody is aware that some construction takes place in the city without applying for the appropriate permits, but in order to benefit for (the LERTA), they would have to come apply,” said Easton Economic Development Director Gretchen Longenbach.

Covers three neighborhoods

The LERTA map covers a broad area of Easton, including Downtown, the West Ward and Neston Heights on South Side. Longenbach noted that many residents may not take advantage of it, and some of the properties include parcels owned by churches.

Also, any recently begun property improvements would not be allowed to file for the LERTA. In Neston Heights, for example, most properties are residential rentals. However, there are 50 properties that are owned by the people who will live in them. Of the 50, only 44 would be eligible for the LERTA because construction is already under way on the other six, Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. said.

To be eligible, a homeowner would have to increase his or her property’s value by 40 percent or more, and all the improvements must happen after the LERTA zone is created, according to Panto. That would not include normal reassessments that may occur but only specific reassessments for the LERTA purposes.

The city already passed an ordinance in support of the LERTA but now must pass a resolution that contains an exact map to present to Northampton County, which also must approve the LERTA.

With the school district on board, the city could present a map of LERTA coverage zones to Northampton County’s economic development committee as early as May 3.